By Royan Abrams
President David Granger recently stated that providing jobs for Guyanese is not one of the responsibilities of Government and therefore encouraged persons to become self-employed.
However, the chairman of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) in region six, David Armogan stated that in all countries of the world, Government has an obligation to ensure that they can provide the stimulus for industries to develop so that employment can be created for the young people.
He added that it has always been one of the responsibilities of Government and more so, one of the promises of the APNU+ AFC Coalition during their campaign for the 2015 Regional and General Elections.
“This is one of the campaign slogan that of the coalition Government that they would find employment for the young people because this is one of the thing they had condemn the last government for that they were not finding employment for the youth coming out of university and secondary schools” he related.
According to the RDC chairman, the Government has turned its back on several of its promises.
He said “if you look at the cabinet for example, the average age of the cabinet is about sixty years so where is the youthfulness that they were talking about, where is the participation of youth in Government and the affairs of our country so this was all a slogan and now I’m hearing that they way they are pushing things is that people have to create employment for the self.”
The chairman noted that as much as he would like to see young people getting involve in acquiring their own business and entrepreneurship, the plans Government is pushing for persons coming out of secondary schools and the University of Guyana to be self-employed is unacceptable.
“So if you’re coming out of secondary school and university and there is no job opportunity available for you, what they are saying is that they will train you and give you one hundred thousand dollars and send you to mind some chicken or something and that’s the kind of employment they are talking about, self-employment so they will give you a lil hundred thousand dollars and you will have to find employment for yourself, I mean that’s ludicrous” he added
Additionally, the chairman pointed out that the University of Guyana, specifically the Berbice Campus does not offer enough programmes to cater and train persons interested in being self-employed.
Region Six was one of the regions won by the People’s Progressive Party during the 2016 Local Government Elections.
